Detail Analysis: Alfa Romeo ‘Busso’ V6 – Chromed Inlet Pipes

Few manufacturers have the brand cachet of Alfa Romeo, but then few other mainstream brands have achieved what the Italian brand has over its long and varied history. As part of their regeneration this decade, Alfa Romeo has recently introduced a brand new V6 engine, in its latest Guilia and Stelvio ‘Quadrofoglio Verde’ versions. Unfortunately, however, they have done so without one exquisite detail that historically set Alfa Romeo V6s apart.

The ‘Busso’ 24-valve V6 was not only a truly brilliant engine, buzzing with character and with a wonderfully musical sound, but from 1989 when Alfa started mounting it transversely, the engine was also widely admired for the chromed inlet pipes that proudly sat front-and-slightly-off-centre underneath the bonnet. Taking inspiration from a time when engines actually looked like engines, rather than some vague locomotive generator, the Busso V6 was a masterclass in creating desirability from relatively humble origins.

The chromed inlet pipes did not have a functional purpose – and they were always expensive for Alfa Romeo to produce – but in terms of design details they had all the drama and romance of the very best exotica. Featured in everything from the wonderfully eccentric 166 saloon to the bonkers 147 GTA, the Alfa Romeo V6 will live on as the ultimate attainable piece of extravagant Italian engineering.

Unfortunately, the company eventually had to bow to 21st-century emissions demands and launched an all-new V6 in collaboration with GM for the 159 and Brera in 2005, which had neither the drama nor the appeal of their first in-house effort. Likewise, the new Ferrari-derived 2.9-litre twin-turbo unit used today cannot hope to get close to the Busso’s visual impact with its silver-on-black plastic cover – cloverleaf badge or not…